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I really don't see how killing it with the van was the best solution.

When it's holding a hostage with its hoof to their head and the nearest negotiation specialist is in Inverness... somebody has to do something! Won't somebody think of the children??????????
 
Its pretty poor coppering in my estimation.

Im not suggesting that all police should know how to deal with loose cattle, but surley someone at the station might know?

They should have had bull bars on the van
 
Well this cow was seemingly tazered but not sure it did much!
7-1.jpg
 
They can take quite a jolt of electricity (see electric fences), it won't do more than just make them shift about a bit. The sensitive part is their noses. And as for the police van being 'forced' to hit the cow to kill it - that's just (excuse the pun) overkill. Unless it was an uncastrated bullock, or a cow with a young calf, cows aren't generally aggressive. I suspect it was a bunch of people chasing it around trying to herd it somewhere and the cow make a break for freedom, knocking someone over. So they decided to return the favour. Calm and quiet is the best way to move cattle.
 
An experimental floating farm in Rotterdam has come under scrutiny after two incidents of cows ending up in the harbour. A ship's winch was used to haul one out of the water. Farmer says it's OK because the cows can swim but Animal rights groups say the farm should be sited inland (near a busy road for example).

View attachment 39792

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/20...ams-experimental-floating-farm-two-cows-fall/
I saw a news report about this a while back, they demonstrated the automatic feeding device, which ended up covering the water in hay and getting very little to the cows it was supposed to be feeding
 
Falling in the water wont hurt them; cows swim very well, they used to be swum from island to island in Scotland.

It might help if they had facilities for getting out themselves though. Even a helpful person in a boat to show them to a ramp would be good. I wouldnt trust people not experienced with handling cattle with a winch. So many ways it can go wrong.
 
Up till the 1920's they would tow cattle and horses across the river here, about
a quarter of a mile with very fast running tides, the pub on our side still as rings
in the wall to park your beasty's wile having a drink, on the other side the ferry pen
as a cobbled ramp so they could walk them up to street level.
Wyresdale-02.jpg
 
Up till the 1920's they would tow cattle and horses across the river here, about
a quarter of a mile with very fast running tides, the pub on our side still as rings
in the wall to park your beasty's wile having a drink, on the other side the ferry pen
as a cobbled ramp so they could walk them up to street level.

where is this @RaM ?
 
Two years ago, at 3:30 am, my husband and I were in open range grazing land on an unpaved road in Arizona. We were setting up for night darksky photography. We knew the area well, and in the daytime had never seen too many cows together at the same time, and I (erroneously) thought we were safe from a stampede. There was no moon, and it was really dark. Well, my husband set up his camera and tripod on the road, and then we heard the rustlings on both sides of us, and then snorting. I couldn't fucking believe it! The stampede started, I could feel the ground shake, and I shouted for my husband to drop and roll under the car. Our mere presence was enough to spook the cattle. It was really loud. Weirdly enough, in all this, we couldn't see anything because it was so dark and the area had a lot of bushes.

He is disabled and it just flashed through my mind that he was going to be stomped to death because of my overconfidence. The cows all stayed to left of the car and us, and we survived. The photography was scratched for the night, however, from all the dust kicked up. I drove us home and felt lucky. And then had a cognac. And then some more.
 
Cows cows!!bastards been chased a couple of times by them and bullocks are the worst

Bastards! Hamburger on the hoof. Here in the western US, the combination of open grazing and the beef-buffalo hybrids always are a concern for me. These hybrids seem to me to be both easily frightened and aggressive. I have had beefalo bulls square off to my car and paw the ground on open grazing land. As if the 1000 acres just wasn't enough for them :)

Hey, I always vaguely thought that cows in the UK were tamer somehow than US cows. In the pictures, they look so peaceful. I now gather that this is not the case.
 
They know how to deal with wayward cattle in Cheshire. :cool:

From the Cheshire Live news website -

Traffic halted on M6 in Cheshire as cows walk in live lane

Traffic was halted on the M6 in Cheshire as cows went for a morning stroll.

The cows were spotted on the embankment of the M6 Northbound at around 9am this morning (May 1).

Traffic was halted from J17 (Sandbach/ Crewe ) to J18 ( Middlewich /Holmes Chapel) as the animals walked close to the live lane. etc
 
Beef-buffalo hybrids, that's a new one on me,
UK cows are in the main quite gentle beasts, sure it makes the news when
one acts out of the norm but that is only due to it being unusual otherwise it
would not be news, I was involved with them over a good few year and can
honestly say non gave any cause for concern, a lot is how you teat them.
Any big animal can cause injury or worse by accident or in panic but I
found a whistle and a rattled bucket more effective than a big stick.
 
Beef-buffalo hybrids, that's a new one on me,
UK cows are in the main quite gentle beasts, sure it makes the news when
one acts out of the norm but that is only due to it being unusual otherwise it
would not be news, I was involved with them over a good few year and can
honestly say non gave any cause for concern, a lot is how you teat them.
Any big animal can cause injury or worse by accident or in panic but I
found a whistle and a rattled bucket more effective than a big stick.
RaM – By buffalo I mean North American bison, not the Asian beasts. Bison are large, can be aggressive, and are not usually found on open grazing land with public access roads. The hybrids are being tried out as meat animals in the NA west because of hybrid vigor, able to grow on poor grazing, etc. I am very cautious around them. They look like a really big cow but with a hump and the beautiful black and red fur.

Years ago, I helped at a cattle round up in central Arizona. It was the complete opposite of how round ups are portrayed in TV shows. Everything was done in slow motion to not upset the cattle. At a slow walk, no running or chasing. It was explained to me that cattle can lose weight – both water and fat – when they move fast, and their value is calculated by the pound.

One cow was upset when separated from her calf; she was running around and bellowing and then just fell over and didn’t get up. Everything stopped and several cowboys ran up to her with water hoses and just hosed her continuously until she got up – and then charged the men!

This ranch BTW was established as one of the last homesteading grants in the lower US in the 1930’s. It was claimed and developed by a young husband and wife from Scotland, who went on to raise their two sons in the middle of nowhere, Yavapai county. I was acquainted with the younger son.
 
Beef-buffalo hybrids, that's a new one on me,
UK cows are in the main quite gentle beasts, sure it makes the news when
one acts out of the norm but that is only due to it being unusual otherwise it
would not be news, I was involved with them over a good few year and can
honestly say non gave any cause for concern, a lot is how you teat them.
Any big animal can cause injury or worse by accident or in panic but I
found a whistle and a rattled bucket more effective than a big stick.
Cow are by far the most deadly animals in the UK

"An agricultural committee is to keep the public and farm workers safe from cows after they were revealed to be the most dangerous large animals in Britain. According to figures from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), 74 people have been killed by cows in the past 15 years"

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/...st-deadly-large-animals-britain-a6727266.html
 
Cow are by far the most deadly animals in the UK

"An agricultural committee is to keep the public and farm workers safe from cows after they were revealed to be the most dangerous large animals in Britain. According to figures from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), 74 people have been killed by cows in the past 15 years"

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/...st-deadly-large-animals-britain-a6727266.html

Those are only the cases which are acknowledged. Cows are cunning killers, they often make the deaths look like accidents.
 
I can only say I have never had a problem though it must be over 30 years
since I had anything to do with cows, maybe cows have got more aggressive
or people more idiotic.

I got that it was Buffalos as in American ones just that I had never heard of such a cross,
they do sound mighty beasts that need treating with great respect.
 
maybe cows have got more aggressive
or people more idiotic.
I'll wager it's the latter. Bulls have a mercurial temperament and people ignore that at their peril. I've heard experienced farmers say that they are always on guard around a bull no matter how long they've had the animal.

With regard to cows, I'm told that it's unwise to get between a cow and her calf, especially if the calf is quite young. Any sort of behaviour on the part of a human which a cow might interpret as a threat to her offspring is a recipe for disaster.
 
'Gladys' the highland cow, who was pregnant at the time, has died after being attacked by dogs.

"A pregnant Highland cow known as "Gladys" and her unborn calf have died after being attacked by dogs in Dorset.

Owned by Redlands Coppice farm, she had been grazing on National Trust land at Eggardon Hill near Bridport when she was attacked on Wednesday evening.

Farmer, Cameron Farquharson, said Gladys, who died after falling over a 30ft (9m) embankment, had been "chased to her death".

He urged dog owners to use common sense and keep their pets on leads."

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-dorset-57292360
 
We had Jerseys, and Jersey bulls are among the most dangerous. Our bull was only used on the heifers, he was less than a year old and I occasionally had to go in with him to sort his bedding and hay. Being a Jersey and a youngster, he was only quite small, but I did NOT hang around in there. The girls, on the other hand, were mostly calm and easy to 'do', but even a small-breed cow outweighs you by quite a lot, and if they want to get stroppy they can crush you or kick. I loved my entire herd but never took safety for granted with them.
 
I hike a lot and am not bothered by cows at all, have jostled with them when necessary to cross narrow bridges etc, and am amused by walkers who walk way out around a bunch of cows rather than just shooing them out of the way. The only time I was at all worried was when a young bull kept making false charges at me as I hiked through his herd's field. I would hear him charging, but as soon as I turned to face him he would screech to a halt... I'd then turn to carry on towards the stile at the far end of the field, and he would charge again... That stile felt a very, very long way away... But even he was no match for my sustained, withering stare.
 
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